Teresa Jackson:
Ah, how great a feeling it is to be young, because with youth comes vigor, a zest for life, and naturally good health. But the downside of youth is its folly, the stupidity that prevents us from realizing how precious and transient this gift of being young is. And so we squander it on a hedonistic lifestyle that does not bode well for middle and old age. We throw away the gift of good health, little realizing that once it has gone, health hardly ever comes back. In short, the youth of today are a careless lot when it comes to health and fitness.
The reasons for this are manifold, but the chief villain is technology — it has made our lives so much easier and much more convenient that we hardly have to lift a finger to do things. We spend most of our time either on the Internet or on the phone because we cannot do without either today. And if not these gadgets, then it’s one of the many others that have proliferated into our world. This makes us lead sedentary lifestyles; we are glued to our television and computer screens and do not feel the need to exercise. This makes us overweight, and disease follows as a natural consequence.
The other reason why youngsters neglect their health and fitness is that they are so caught up in their present lives that they fail to plan for the future. Just as it is important to be financially savvy and save money for a rainy day, it’s also necessary to add value to the asset of health using fitness, exercise and diet as interest-earning investments. But because they’re so focused on their lessons, friends and social life, they fail to eat right and exercise regularly. Fast food, late nights, booze parties, smoking and doing drugs — they’re all considered a natural part of youth, and most teenagers join the bandwagon because they fear being left behind by their peers.
The problem with neglecting health when you’re young is that it comes back to bite you as you grow older. Your body takes a beating and by the time you get around to doing something about your health, it’s often too late to regain the sheen and gloss of youth. You become obese, your internal organs are worn out because they’ve worked overtime to cleanse your body from all the toxins that you’ve ingested over the years, and your mental health starts to deteriorate as well because you’re so used to technology that you stop thinking for yourself.
The only way to harness the power of youth and use it as a lever to vault into middle age hale and healthy is to eat right, exercise both your body and mind regularly, and avoid cigarettes, booze and drugs.
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Teresa Jackson writes on the subject of OnlineNursePractitionerSchools . She invites your questions, comments at her email address : teresa.jackson19@gmail.com.